7/15/2015

Another Benefit of the Iran Nuclear Deal: Happy Iranians Buying Shit

As predictable as the morning sun, the whiny warmongers of the right are losing their collective shit over the deal on Iran's nuclear weapons program. For instance, Sean Hannity's Manly Jaw hosted the ghoulish visage of Dick Cheney to pronounce that it is "a day that will live in infamy," which is a totally plagiarized phrase. Republican presidential candidates had their panties in such a wad that their asses are chafed. America's Sassiest Debutante, Sen. Lindsey Graham, declared, "[T]his deal is far worse than I ever dreamed it could be and will be a nightmare for the region, our national security and eventually the world at large." And Mike Huckabee hee-hawed, "Shame on the Obama administration for agreeing to a deal that empowers an evil Iranian regime to carry out its threat to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ and bring ‘death to America.'"

The Rude Pundit isn't smart enough to go into the minutiae of the negotiations and the final deal. He doesn't know much more than what he's read about it from people who do know. He won't make pronouncements because he ain't an expert on inspection regimes, development of nuclear weapons, or Hassan Rouhani's beard grooming. But he knows about people. And what he's seeing from Iran is this:

That's a group of young people in Iran going crazy with celebration for the nuclear deal. They're not going crazy because their crafty evil government defeated the great Satan. They're not going crazy because they will finally get to destroy Israel and install a neverending caliphate or some such shit. They're going crazy for the basest but most logical of reasons, which ought to make conservatives extremely happy: Iranians can't wait to make money and buy shit, lots of shit, Western shit, which they will be able to do when sanctions are lifted. And that, dear, sweet, stupid conservatives, will do more to make a difference in the world than all the fucked up punitive measures you can come up with to blow Israel a little better.

In today's Tehran Times, one article talks about how excited Iranians are for the development of their tourism industry. You got that? They want Western tourists. This is from a government official, the Director of Cultural Heritage and Tourism: "The decrease in dependence on oil revenues and the possibility to use credit cards in the country will also have great impact on the tourism industry. Also the visit of more Western tourists to the country will provide opportunity to present the true face of Iran to the world."

Artists in Iran are also thrilled, according to another article in the same news site. Feminist filmmaker Tahmineh Milani said, "The positive result of the talks kept hope alive, something that is very crucial for society today."

Iran's 20somethings, artists, and tourist industry are delighted. The business community is rubbing its hands in anticipation of the coming bounty. And, with the deal lasting at least 10 years (barring any fuckery), even younger Iranians will grow up without a view of the West and the United States in particular as nothing to be feared.

That's what was accomplished here. More than trying to bomb a Muslim country into democracy ever could have accomplished, President Obama has figured out that the best way to get Western values into the Muslim world is to let people scratch that materialistic itch.